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After Fox strong-armed Ridley Scott into directing the Alien prequel](http://www.cinematical.com/2009/10/29/ridley-scott-reveals-details-about-alien-prequel/) it left one person in the lurch. Commercial director and fledgling feature filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch was passed over for the project, but went on to participate in a collaboration between electronic mogul Phillips and Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) called Parallel Lines. Five filmmakers – Jake Scott, Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Carl Erik Rinsch, and Hi-Sim – were asked to create a series of short films in a genre of their choice using a unifying theme. You can catch up with some of Rinsch’s past work on our sister site SciFi Squad, but it’s his futuristic action-thriller short, The Gift, that has already sparked a bidding war. The early buzz has the title being compared favorably to Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, another career-launcher that began life as a short.
Rinsch’s film doesn’t feature the same level of social commentary as Blomkamp’s Alive in Joburg](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/alive-in-joburg/1310465/main?icid=movsmartsearch), but there’s no denying the short exudes an undeniable sense of style. Plus, it has a robot butler - and I’ve spent years dreaming of the day when every house would come equipped with one of those. Kidding aside, viewing The Gift left me wondering how a Rinsch-directed Alien prequel might have turned out. Based on his work here, it seems as though the project would have been in capable hands.
As for the short itself, I don’t want to give away too much - so I’ll just say it’s set in what appears to be a dystopian future and involves a package reminiscent of the Lament Configuration in the Hellraiser films. Jump past the break to see it for yourself. Can you see this turning into another sci-fi sensation like District 9](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/district-9/31920/main?icid=movsmartsearch)? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.